THE number of people killed or injured on Leicestershire’s roads is at a record low, a new report has shown.

In January, Leicestershire County Council reported that in 2012, 27 people lost their lives including three deaths on Charnwood’s roads – the lowest since records began in 1979.

Overall in Charnwood there were 357 casualties in 2012, down 14 per cent from 469 injuries in 2010 and down 29 per cent from 504 injuries, the average figure on Charnwood’s roads in 2005-2009.

The Annual Road Safety Report also lists a range of schemes which have helped the council to cut these figures - such as the installation of the speed camera on the A6 between Loughborough and Quorn, and sending 13,000 drivers on speed awareness courses rather than hand them points on their licence.

Coun Peter Osborne, Leicestershire County Council Cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “What we can see is that, overall year-on-year, there is a downward trend in the number of people killed or injured on our roads, which is very encouraging.

“However, there are still too many lives lost, lives changed and families devastated as a result of road accidents.

“We will continue to work with our partners to do what we can to try to reduce accidents further.

“However, we can only do so much. We need all road users to drive considerately and safely to help continue to reduce the number of casualties.”